In the corridor, after exchanging a few words, Teams 8 and 7 went together to the third floor to submit their application forms and get their seat numbers, then headed downstairs to the main academy building.
On the stairwell, Sasuke looked at Izayoi and asked, "Hey, Izayoi, have you noticed those guys recently?"
"Mhm." Izayoi nodded, knowing perfectly well that Sasuke ant the foreign shinobi who had been covertly gathering information on them. As the top of this year’s class, as well as the last of the Uchiha in that sa year, Izayoi and Sasuke had naturally beco key targets of scrutiny.
Indeed, these past few days quite a few new faces had wandered near Izayoi’s house, but they never went overboard, so he left it alone.
"Have you co across that one who carries a big gourd on his back?" Sasuke went on.
"Nope. Is he strong?"
"Yeah...a real tough to crack." Sasuke recalled sothing, and a slight grin tugged his lips. "This year’s Chūnin Exams look to be crawling with monsters. I can’t wait to face them."
"In that case, you may get your wish pretty soon." Izayoi’s own smile broadened, as if he’d noticed sothing.
The mont they reached the back exit hall of the main building, soone from behind called out, "Hey, hold on a second!"
Hearing that voice, Sakura froze in place.
"It’s you again—Bushy Brows! What do you want now!?" Naruto called up toward the second-floor landing where Rock Lee stood.
Lee hopped nimbly down from above, landing in perfect form. He struck a dynamic taijutsu stance and, eyes locked on Izayoi, spoke in a firm tone.
"My na is Rock Lee, and I’d like to challenge the top rookie of this generation. Izayoi—face in a match!"
"He’s challenging Izayoi?" Team 7 looked surprised.
"He...seems to be Neji-oniisan’s teammate." Hinata frowned slightly, her gaze sharpening as if she misunderstood Lee’s intentions.
"My insects tell he slls faintly of blood," Shino remarked calmly. "He’s no weakling."
Izayoi, too, was taken aback Lee hadn’t co for Sasuke but for him. However, a quick glance in a certain direction seed to make Izayoi’s interest vanish.
If it were an all-out battle with no constraints, Izayoi would’ve liked to witness the might of the Eight Gates. But right now, he rely turned to Sasuke.
"Sasuke, you take him."
"?" Sasuke blinked, recalling how Lee had stopped his kick alongside the Chūnin gatekeepers a few days before. Battle-lust surged in his eyes, and he nodded. "All right. I’ll handle him."
Seeing Sasuke step forward, Rock Lee’s brows furrowed, and he looked again at Izayoi. "What’s this supposed to an?"
Before Izayoi could answer, Sasuke cut in with a confident shrug of his thumb, pointing it at himself.
"Beat first if you want to challenge Izayoi. If you can’t handle , then don’t bother looking to get pumled."
Rock Lee blinked. "...So you’re his underling."
"I’m nobody’s underling!" Sasuke roared. The pattern in his Sharingan flared from behind.
"Stop talking. Let’s do this."
"Those eyes..." Rock Lee stared at Sasuke’s red pupils, brimming with fighting spirit. "So you’re the last of the Uchiha...very well. Let witness for myself the fad Sharingan of the so-called genius clan!"
After that, Lee straightened up, introducing himself formally: "I’m Rock Lee—please, let’s have a proper match."
"Enough talk. Let’s get this over with," Sasuke snapped and charged.
Teams 7 and 8 leaned against the lobby pillars to watch.
As Lee watched Sasuke rush in, he tensed himself. The instant Sasuke’s fist shot forward, Lee vanished from his spot like a ghost.
"A Body Flicker? No, that’s not a flicker..." Sasuke’s punch smashed air and found no target, and he froze for a half-second in astonishnt.
In that split second, he forced himself to sense movent around him. His face changed sharply—he sensed sothing to his side, jerked his head in that direction, and raised his right arm. He managed to block a swift kick from Lee’s leg.
Even so, the impact rattled Sasuke’s arm, shock flashing in his eyes.
What massive strength—could this be...?
With Sasuke montarily thrown off, Lee had already retracted his leg. Displaying impressive flexibility, he did a quick flip down in front of Sasuke, bracing hands on the ground like a breakdancer. He spun in a sudden Thomas flare, using the montum to smash an upward kick directly at Sasuke’s jaw.
Sasuke crossed both arms, but the raw power from below catapulted him a couple of ters into midair. He landed awkwardly, arms numbed from the blow. Facing Lee, who had righted himself again in a readied pose, Sasuke muttered, "So that speed and power... You’re a taijutsu fighter."
Lee nodded with zero hesitation. "Yes, I specialize in taijutsu."
He also gave Sasuke a small nod of respect. "I’ve heard that the Sharingan can analyze all ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu... It seems the rumors hold true."
"But I’m more surprised that you could sense my moves and keep up—though just barely," he added. "I guess genius truly flows in your clan’s veins."
"Barely, huh?" Sasuke’s two-tomoe Sharingan spun, and he gave a slight, condescending laugh. "You can have that remark back."
No sooner said than done, Sasuke’s form vanished into thin air. Rock Lee’s eyes widened. Hearing a sudden whoosh beside him, he spun just in ti to raise an arm—he felt a kick jam against his forearm.
Boom—Sasuke landed a backflip, dropping to the ground with arms set. He mirrored Lee’s breakdance technique, a perfect Thomas flare that whipped upward at Lee’s chin from below.
This ti Lee hurried to cross his arms, and he went airborne—knocked a short distance back before dropping into a crouch. Watching Sasuke smoothly land, now adopting his own posture, Rock Lee’s expression flickered.
"You—!"
By the pillar, Team 7 looked on, mouths agape.
"Am I seeing things...?" Naruto rubbed at his eyes, "Did jerk-face Sasuke just do what Bushy Brows did a second ago?"
"He’s...incredible. As expected of Sasuke-kun!" Sakura gushed, pressing her hands together with hearts in her eyes.
"That must be that ’Sharingan Copying’ we’ve heard about," Shino added in tones of awe. "He saw Lee’s movent only once and recreated it. No wonder the Uchiha clan’s Sharingan is said to be unbeaten in one-on-one fights."
Only Izayoi and Hinata remained unfazed, calmly observing the spectacle with faint smiles. The two of them knew better than anyone just how strong Sasuke was.
After all, if Sasuke were still weak after so many sparring sessions with Izayoi over the years, Izayoi might as well commit seppuku.
~~~
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